Change of Heart (English)
by Fulmination
Summary: Following the events of North and South part 3, Sokka sails off to the Fire Nation to spend some well-deserved time with Suki. However, an unexpected heartbreak and a series of events may lead him into feeling something new for Ty Lee instead.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey you all! If you've read the "North and South" trilogy, then maybe, like me, you've wondered why Suki didn't arrive to the South Pole together with everyone else. I found it strange how there was no explanation for that and along with a few particular interactions between her and Zuko during some of the previous novels, I got the idea for this story. It takes place right after "North and South" (about 2 years after the series), but even if you haven't read that, no worries, there aren't any major plot spoilers here. Enjoy!**

 _ **I wrote this chapter long ago and in retrospect I think I was too hasty to upload it and it's quite badly written. For better or worse, however, I don't change anything after putting it up once, so I'll just ask that you read the second one as well!**_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the sources which this fiction is based upon.**

 **Change of Heart**

It was a late evening and Sokka was lying on his bed in Zuko's Fire Nation ship. A few days earlier they had sailed from the Southern Water Tribe and were now en route to the Fire Nation capital. Since everything on the South Pole seemed to be taken care of for now, with Gilak's men no longer posing a threat, the construction going peacefully and Aang being there in case something happened, Sokka felt it was a good opportunity for a small vacation. Therefore he had arranged to go with Zuko on his way back to the Fire Nation. He was looking forward to spending some time with Suki – they hadn't seen each other in weeks and he missed her terribly.

He frowned slightly at the thought of her. Sure, he wanted to see her badly, but he couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't come visit him herself. It made sense that as the Firelord's personal guard she would accompany Zuko to the South Pole, but she hadn't done so. When he had asked Zuko about it, the firebender had seemed quite puzzled himself, only saying that "she didn't feel so well." That sounded strange to Sokka, because he knew Suki and she wouldn't miss the rare chance to see all her friends together due to something so trivial. She would have to be really sick, which from Zuko's words didn't seem to be the case.

Sokka got up from the bed, dismissing the matter. There was probably a simple explanation - he would just ask her when he got there.

Going out to the ship deck, to his surprise he saw Zuko leaning on the rails and looking out towards the sea. It was unusual for him to be up so late in the evening. Sokka walked up to him, patting his shoulder.

"Hey, something on your mind?" Zuko seemed to snap out of his thoughts as he looked at him briefly, before moving his gaze back to the sea.

"Hey. Not really, it's nothing."

"Alright then." Sokka raised his shoulders and similarly leaned next to him. Zuko wasn't the most open guy and probing would probably just irritate him. However, after a few moments of silence, the firebender spoke.

"I was thinking about Mai. Have been a lot recently."

"What's up with her?"

Zuko sighed. "Ty Lee told me she broke up with Kei Lo. She also said she refused to talk about it and that she seemed really gloomy…I mean," he raised his voice slightly when he saw that Sokka was about to say something, "I mean gloomier than usual." The other boy chuckled.

"And you're wondering why, huh?"

"Yeah, they seemed happy together, so I don't get why she'd leave him."

"Hmmm…" Sokka rubbed his chin. "Have you tried talking to her since then?"

"Yeah, nothing. I feel like she's avoiding me even more than before. Why?"

"Cus I think I know why she did that. It was probably because of you."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Me? What have I done?"

"Nothing, I think she just still likes you. It sounded kind of fishy when Aang was telling how touchy she was with that guy. I mean you can't be together for 2 days and constantly be smooching in front of others, even I don't do that. Except maybe that one time…"

"Yeah, yeah." Zuko waved his hand seeing his friend going off-topic. "So what's your point? That she was just with him to get back at me?"

"I'm pretty sure that's it."

Zuko looked away again in consideration. That didn't sound typical for Mai, she normally hated such nonsense. Still, the more he thought about it, the more it was adding up.

"Then why won't she talk to me? Whenever I see her she acts like I'm not even there."

"I don't know, man." Sokka scratched the back of his head. "Maybe she just doesn't want to admit it."

They were quiet for a bit, neither knowing what to say. Eventually, Sokka spoke up again.

"If you want, I can go find out for sure. I'll have plenty of free time there, I can stop by at her place."

Zuko looked at him skeptically. "You? No way, she would stick a knife in my head if you went there for me."

Sokka waved it off. "Relax, I won't saying anything about you. I could just go check what's up and see how she's doing, nothing suspicious about that. Maybe I'll pick up on something that will help you." Zuko was still opposed though.

"She won't tell you anything anyway, she barely knows you. She doesn't even talk to Ty Lee."

"Maybe she will exactly because she doesn't know me!" Sokka put his arm around Zuko's shoulders, seeming more enthusiastic. "Sometimes it's easier to talk to people you don't know, get it?"

"…No?"

"Well, just trust me then. You got problems with a woman, you're at the right place, buddy."

Zuko rolled his eyes. He definitely didn't trust Sokka during his moments like this, especially after hearing Aang's story about his women-advice. There was also something about a fortuneteller and a volcano, he couldn't quite remember. Despite that, his points so far made some sense and it wasn't like things between him and Mai could get much worse.

"Well, I suppose you could try…"

"Yeah, that's my man, have no worries." Sokka let go of him and leaned back on the railing, somewhat content with himself.

Zuko couldn't help but smile a bit at his friend's cheerfulness, in spite of his own skepticism. He hadn't had any real friends for most of his life, so he appreciated such gestures more than he was ready to admit.

The two of them stayed there silently for a few more minutes, before deciding to turn in once tiredness hit. It was already late and Sokka would need his rest for the surprise that awaited him on the next day, although he didn't yet know that.

"Suki!" called out Sokka and ran out of the ship towards his girlfriend.

"Sokka? What are you doing…" she was cut off when he hugged her, "…here?"

The other Kyoshi warriors around them gave a few chuckles and awwws at the sight, but their leader didn't exactly feel that way. As the Firelord's escort, she and her fighters had to be at the harbor waiting for his disembarking. A standard safety precaution, since there were still supporters of the old regime and that was a convenient place for an assassination attempt. However, she hadn't expected to see her boyfriend along with Zuko.

She briefly hugged him back, immediately asking as soon as they released each other, "Sokka, what are you doing here? You didn't write that you were coming."

"Yeah, it was a bit of a last minute decision, so I wanted to surprise you." He paused and looked at her slightly confused. "I thought you would be more excited though, is something wrong? Are you still sick?"

"…sick?" she took a second to catch on. "Oh, no, not really. I'm just a little tired, that's all." She pulled away without looking in his eyes. Sokka didn't miss that, but before he could say anything, Zuko came up to them, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"I'm also happy you're both here together," he said with a smile, "but let's save the reunion for when we're at the palace. It's getting dark and we shouldn't stay here."

Suki looked away with a slight blush, which none of the two guys noticed. Sokka nodded and offered her his hand, which she took still looking away from him.

It took them a good while to get to the palace due to the crowds which gathered a few times to either greet or voice their protests to the Firelord. Sokka had already heard from Zuko that his reputation wasn't that good after the whole story with the kidnappings. Ozai's supporters were also still not fully dealt with and were most likely taking advantage of the situation to seed further displeasure among the citizens.

"Wow, is it just me or have people gotten a lot less friendly here?" Sokka scratched his head. "Has something happened?" he didn't get an answer. "...Suki?"

Suki snapped out of her thoughts, "Sorry. Yeah, pretty much. Some are still blaming Zuko after the whole thing with the Kemurikage and think he should favor his own people even at the expense of outsiders. It's crazy, that sort of thinking started the war in the first place. Zuko is just trying to make up for it, but no one sees how hard it is on him."

Sokka noticed her angrier tone towards the end. He had just remarked that the people seemed displeased, he didn't expect such a long answer.

"You seem frustrated somehow."

She sighed. "I just want to get to the palace already. I feel uneasy among those crowds."

By the time they arrived it was time for dinner. As usual, Sokka was starving at that point and the abundance of food and the attention for being the Firelord and the Avatar's war-hero friend made him forget pretty much all else. Normally he was overshadowed by Aang, but in his absence everyone was a lot more interested in talking to Sokka and he definitely wasn't complaining. For that he didn't really notice that Suki was still quieter and more detached than usual. Whenever he looked spoke to her she smiled and went along with it until soon someone inevitably drew his attention again. That's how the whole evening went on until people began leaving for bed and the hall gradually emptied. Sokka and Suki said good night to Zuko and followed a servant to Sokka's room.

"You know, I could really get used to this. They have even more food here than back home!" he said enthusiastically and Suki laughed.

"Yeah, I saw you were enjoying yourself."

"Yep! Toph's right - hero worship is the best."

"Mhm…"

They reached Sokka's room and the servant let them in with a bow. "Your room, sir, your luggage is all inside. Call us if there is anything you need."

"Thank you very much! I'll let you know." The servant bowed again and left.

When they remained alone Sokka gave Suki a long hug and a kiss. "What do you say you stay here with me?"

"Here?"

"Yeah, I'll help you move whatever you need from your room."

Suki stepped away a bit. "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm in a different part of the palace with the other girls from Kyoshi."

"So what? I'm sure they won't mind."

"It doesn't really work that way, there are some rules…"

"Rules? I don't think Zuko would have a problem with it."

She didn't answer and Sokka became more confused.

"Then how about I move into your room?"

"No, you can't."

"Why not? It's not like we haven't…"

"No, Sokka, it's not about sleeping together. That's not the problem."

"Then what is it?" He let go of her. "You've been acting strange all day. Has something happened? You can tell me."

Suki was looking down, not saying anything.

"Are you unhappy that I'm here?" He asked and she caught his slightly hurt tone, though he tried to hide it.

"No, it's not that, it's just…I'm sorry, could we talk about this tomorrow, please?"

"What? But…" Sokka was quite worried at that point and really wanted to know what was going on. Her pleading look made him sigh in acceptance though. "Alright, I guess if you want to…" He gave her another hug and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

She kissed his cheek, whispering "Good night." and opened the door to leave. Sokka was flabbergasted.

"Wait, wha…"

"Tomorrow, ok? I promise…" she closed the door and left.

Sokka reached for the door with the intention to go after her, but then decided against it. Instead he just fell on the bed and slapped his forehead. He had definitely noticed her not saying "I love you" back before her abrupt leaving. That was what bothered him the most, in fact. And just a cheek kiss? They were together for almost 2 years already, they should be way past that point. It was definitely not the greeting he expected after weeks of not seeing each other.

He got up to take off his clothes, before going back to bed. He couldn't relax though, so he just stared at the ceiling for a good while, trying to make a guess what the issue might be. Unfortunately, his mind couldn't come up with anything. Hopefully she wouldn't stall much longer and tell him first thing tomorrow.

"Ugh, girls…" mumbled Sokka, after which he turned on his side and soon fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.**

 **Chapter 2**

"And she just left?" asked Zuko in disbelief.

He and Sokka were strolling around the palace garden in the afternoon of the next day following their return and Sokka had just finished telling him what had happened the previous night. Currently the Firelord had an expression of confusion which was an exact reflection of the way his friend felt on the inside.

"Wow. What do you think you've done?" the firebender continued, feeling very eager to find an explanation himself.

"No idea! I've been wondering all morning!" Sokka threw his hands in the air. "Nothing I think, she's always been happy to see me before. Although she hasn't sent me any letters in a while…" he trailed off.

"Maybe it's just a bad moment or some girly issue." was Zuko's only guess.

His sheltered upbringing and difficult childhood had caused him to grow up with rather poor understanding of other people, and especially of girls. That was an issue he was well aware of and was putting effort into fixing, but it was proving to be quite a difficult task.

"Yeah, I hope it's just that..." Sokka scratched his head. "Have you noticed her acting strange lately?"

"Nope. I'd tell you if I did."

He sighed, once again out of ideas.

"Guess I'll just have to find out from her then."

The first thing Sokka had done after waking up and fixing himself that morning was to look for Suki in the hopes of getting the promised explanation. He had even decided to skip breakfast if necessary, which was likely the biggest proof of how serious the situation was. However, it had turned out that Suki had left for the town a bit before that with the statement that she wouldn't be back until the evening. She hadn't left any explanation where she was going or why, and that was the main reason for Sokka's current frustration and impatience, but at the moment he was forced to accept things as they were and hope that it would all be worth it in the end.

They walked quietly for a few minutes until Zuko broke the silence again.

"So what will you do now? I need to meet with a few people soon, so…"

"Eh, no worries. I'll just go see Mai."

"You know you really don't need to bother with that."

"Hey, I already told you I would. And I could use a walk anyway."

Sokka stretched a bit to emphasize his point. Right now staying inside the palace on his own seemed like a rather unplesant idea.

They stopped when they reached the entrance to the garden once again.

"Ok then, suit yourself. I need to go get ready and take care of some things now." said Zuko and attempted to go back inside, before being halted by Sokka.

"Yo, hold up!"

He caught up to him and extended his hand in the typical Water Tribe fashion. Zuko smiled a bit and took it, accepting the handshake.

"See you later, mate."

"See you."

He went inside, leaving Sokka alone to go pick up a few belongings and walk out of the palace a few minutes later. Once on the streets of the Fire Nation capital, he stopped and facepalmed, suddenly realizing he had no idea where Mai even lived. It hadn't occured to him at all to ask Zuko about that very basic detail.

„Oh man!" he whined and was just about to go back to the palace when two hands gripped his shoulders from behind and made him jump.

„Hey there!" a cheerful female voice called out and he turned to see Ty Lee smiling at him.

„Gosh, Ty Lee, you can't...sneak up like that on people!" he gripped his chest and exhaled to calm his heart.

She just looked at him innocently.

„Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just didn't expect to see you here, I thought you were on the South Pole."

„It's fine, I was just thinking about something." he brushed it off, now back to his senses. "And yeah, I've been here since yesterday."

„Really? Are the others with you too?" she jumped up and down excited.

„Nah, it's just me visiting for a bit. Home got a little too much these days."

"Oh, I get you. I've also been bored on Kyoshi lately, sooo I came here. I just hope Suki doesn't find me some job to do, cause that would be quite the waste then!"

She gave another one of her bright smiles at the end to show that she wasn't really serious, but Sokka instantly felt his mood drop at the mention of Suki. He didn't want to discuss her anymore, so he hurried to change the topic.

"Say, could you tell me where Mai lives? I was actually going to see her."

"Sure, I'll take you there!"

"Really? You don't have to, if you tell me I'm pretty sure I'll find it." he backed up a bit with his hands slightly raised.

"No, no, it's no problem at all! I got free time." She smiled happily and took his hand, leading him with her. "Come on!"

"Wow, well, ok then." Sokka said with no choice but to follow her.

On the way Ty Lee told him more about life on Kyoshi Island, where she was most of the time apparently. She really liked the other girls there and had come to view them like sisters in a way, although she complained that they always "forgot to tell her" about sparring practices. Sokka found it humorous how she didn't realize they were afraid of her chi-blocking, but he kept that insight to himself. He couldn't really blame, them considering all of his own uncomfortable memories of that. He in turn told her of the recent happenings on the South Pole, noting with some surprise how startled she was to hear how close to death he and his friends had been a few times. He hadn't really thought about that himself during all the commotion. Nevertheless, he was quickly back to his normal humor and the seriousness of the story soon faded into the background.

Before long Sokka's attention started to dwindle a bit from talking when he suddenly realized how different Ty Lee looked from what he remembered. He had seen her only a few times after the end of the war and mostly with the warrior makeup on, so up until then he hadn't had the chance to notice how much she had grown in those two and a half years. She was a bit taller and her hair a little longer than before, but most of all she just appeared more grown-up and feminine. Sokka thought almost against his will that she looked gorgeous.

Ty Lee noticed him staring in her direction.

"What are you looking at?" she glanced behind her, searching naively for what was drawing his attention.

Sokka shook his head, chasing away his thoughts.

"Uuuh, nothing. What were you saying?" he coughed a bit.

Ty Lee giggled.

"You cu..." she stopped herself before saying "cutie." She knew she had to control herself a bit now that she was friends with Suki, because the last thing she wanted was for the other girl (who was also practically her boss) to think that she was trying something with her boyfriend. "Um, I just asked how long you'd be here. Won't they need you back?"

"Nah, they'll be fine without me for a bit, they got Aang there. So I could probably stay a few weeks."

"Yay! It's going to be much more fun with you around!" she exclaimed with hands triumphantly in the air.

Sokka laughed at her outgoingness. It felt nice to be so vocally appreciated.

"Yeah, I know, I know!" he waved it off pridefully, as if he heard that every day, which he definitely didn't.

"Don't get me wrong," she went on, "I love Zuko and Mai, but sometimes they're both so...blaaaah..." she stuck her tongue out, making a face at which Sokka laughed outloud, prompting her to chuckle too.

"Yeah, I get you. But that's why they're so good for each other, am I right?"

They both burst laughing and went on until they attracted a few curious looks from the bypassers.

After they quieted down Ty Lee asked if he knew about Kei Lo.

"That guy she dumped? Yeah, what about him?"

"Just making sure you don't think she's still with Zuko. You might wanna avoid mentioning him at all, actually, cus she gets really irritated and she'll take it out on me..."

Sokka chuckled at her comically concerned tone, which hinted that that had already happened.

"No worries, I know not to mention Sparky. Way ahead of you on that."

Ty Lee nodded knowingly, but then frowned a bit when a thought occured to her.

"Wait a minute..." she spoke up after a few seconds and looked at him suspiciously. "And how do you know that? Are you here scouting for Zuko?"

Sokka's face became red and he felt himself beging to sweat a bit.

"What? No, nooo, no scouting here, why would I be scouting?" he exclaimed with his higher-pitched voice betraying him. "I'm just here on a...whim?" He finished lamely.

Ty Lee laughed and poked his head.

"You're funny! It's ok, I'd do the same."

Sokka relaxed a bit when he saw that she wasn't mad.

"Really? Have you tried talking to her to give him a chance?"

"Oh no! She'd kill me!" She looked at him wide-eyed like the idea itself terrified her.

"Eh, bummer..."

Just as he said that they stopped by the entrance of nicely-looking building, which seemed to be an inn or a restaurant of sorts.

"We're here." Ty Lee said and opened the door.

"MAI!" she ran and hugged the surprised girl serving one of the tables.

"Ty Lee, what...did I say...about...hugging me?" Mai struggled to breathe, as Sokka closed the door and with a chill step made his way to them.

"Sup?" he waved nonchalantly at the customers watching confused the exchange taking place next to them. "Hi, Mai!" He greeted the other girl who was trying to pull away from the forced hug.

"Oh, you're here too. Hi." Mai said as Ty Lee released her. "Alright then, come here." She gestured for them to follow her into the back part of the restaurant where there were no clients.

"Is it a bad time? We can come back later if you're busy. Well, I can at least." Sokka glanced at Ty Lee unsurely.

She just waved it off unconcerned, like it was an everyday thing.

"It's fine, I needed a break anyway." Mai said as they sat down. "Are you hungry?"

A "Nope, I'm good." and a "Hell yeah!" came from Ty Lee and Sokka respectively. Ty Lee chuckled at him while Mai stood up with a smirk and in a few minutes came back with a tray of food.

The two girls exchanged a few words to catch up while Sokka was attacking the food. After he had somewhat filled himself and began slowing down, Mai turned her attention to him again.

"So, what brings you here? I haven't seen you in the Fire Nation in a while."

"Well, you know..." he mumbled stuffing himself, "Work got too much, I figured I'd take a break and see how y'all were doing."

"And you thought to come see me of all people? I'm flattered." She answered with a tint of irony, although she was obviously pleased as well.

"Yeah, I ran into him on the street. Imagine, he was looking for you, so I brought him here." Ty Lee said, "He didn't think to see me though, hmmm!" She lifted an eyebrow at Sokka in feigned displeasure, making him lift his hands in defense.

"Hey, I didn't know you were here!"

She giggled. "It's ok, silly, I'm joking."

"Wow, the palace must have gotten really depressing if you'd prefer to visit me." pointed out Mai raising her eyebrows a bit.

Sokka shrugged. "It's alright, it's just that Zuko's working kinda much so..." he blurted out before he could stop himself. "So uuuuh...yeah..." he sank down a bit seeing Ty Lee silently facepalm.

The table became quiet as Mai pierced Sokka with an unreadable emotion in her eyes while he was looking everywhere except at her. Ty Lee rested her chin on her hand, glancing in amusement between the two. That was so typical of Sokka, she should have seen it coming.

"Oh really?" said Mai finally. "That's not a surprise. Being a Firelord as always been the most important thing in his family, especially to him it seems."

Sokka coughed uncomfortably, trying to ignore her apparently calm, but subtly threatening tone.

"So um...what about you then? Anything interesting happen?"

The tension weighed heavily in the air during the roughly quarter of a minute that Mai took to acknowledge the question.

"Not really. Taking care of my little brother, still not talking to my father. Job's boring, life's boring."

She seemed less interested in conversing now, judging by her voice which had turned expressionless even by her standards.

"You don't talk to your father? I'm sorry to hear." mumbled Sokka.

"It's fine." She brushed it off. "His fault, he knew what he was doing."

"Aha, I see." Sokka glanced towards Ty Lee for a hint, but she just shrugged apologetically. She had warned him, he had to deal with it now.

"So what's on your mind? You have any plans for...I don't know...the near or...or distant future?"

There was a small "tud!" sound as Ty Lee banged her head silently on the table at his choice of words. Mai glanced in her direction, but didn't remark on it. She was used to her friend being weird on occasion.

"If you're trying to ask me out, I'm sorry. You're nice, but you're not really my type."

"What? Nooo, nothing like that!" He scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm just making conversation here!"

"Yeah, I know that's what you're doing. Obviously you're not that stupid." She retorted while spinning one of the kitchen knives between her fingers.

Sokka wondered for a moment if that was her typical behavior or if she was punishing him for daring to mention Zuko to her.

"Nope, I don't have any plans. Hopefully something comes up to get me out of here soon."

That gave Sokka an idea, but he was going to hold onto it until a better moment.

"Well, alright. That was great, by the way." He pointed to the now finished food. "How much do I owe you?"

Mai waved it off. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Really?" He got excited once again. "I should come here more often!"

Mai smiled a bit despite herself.

"Don't overdo it, we're not a charity."

Ty Lee laughed and looked through the window at the darkening sky.

"Well, it was wonderful seeing both of you, but it's getting late and I have to go." She got up and lightly hugged Mai before she could resist.

Sokka remembered Suki's promise and got up as well.

"Yeah, I should get going too, actually. I gotta meet up with Suki."

They made their way to the exit, but as he opened the door, Sokka turned around towards Mai. Now was a good moment, when she didn't have time to think about it too much.

"Hey, if you really have nothing to do, you could meet up with us sometime. It would be nice to get together around town or at the palace. You know, do something." He glanced at Ty Lee and she took the hint.

"Yeah, I'd love to get together too!"

Mai looked at Sokka with narrowed eyes like she was wondering what he was up to. He just gulped nervously.

"Alright, maybe." She shrugged finally. "No promises."

"Fair enough, it's cool. Well, cya!" He waved and left together with Ty Lee.

"You just had to mention Zuko, didn't you?" Ty Lee asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

Sokka slumped a bit with an embarassed expression.

"It slipped, ok? I was just trying to make conversation and, you know...it came out!"

"Yeah, yeah, figures!" she rolled her eyes with a smug grin.

Sokka loosened up a bit, seeing that she was just teasing him.

"You think she figured out that little thing in the end?" he asked after a moment.

Ty Lee became thoughtful for a bit.

"That you want to get her somewhere with Zuko? I'm not sure. Maybe, but I know she wants to see him anyway, whatever she says. So it's fine." She finished encouragingly.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure once we get them alone somewhere they'll work it out themselves. There might be some yelling, but whatever, we're used to it, am I right?"

Ty Lee nudged him playfully, not feeling the need to give a specific response. Sokka couldn't possibly realize how much she had really meant what she had said earlier about it being a lot more fun with him around. Being the only generally cheerful person among one's friends frequently became tedious, as much as she had learned not to let it show. Having someone else to laugh with her so readily, and even make her laugh himself, was something Ty Lee hadn't had the chance to experience up to that point and she could easily get used to it. She knew she shouldn't though, because today was surely a one-off thing and she wasn't going to see him much after that, just as usual. Her mood dropped a bit at the realization, but she resolved to keep a cheerful face and not upset him too. She wasn't that type of person.

"Hey, how come you aren't with Suki, actually? It's your first day here and you guys must really miss each other."

She asked the question mostly in an attempt to make Sokka smile a little more, not because she really cared to know. However, surprisingly, she saw a brief shadow run across his face before he masked his true feelings and responded.

"Eh, she was busy today. Some girl stuff, I don't know."

Such a short and uninterested answer was untypical for him, but Ty Lee wasn't going to probe further, even though her curiosity was suddenly peaked. If he didn't want to give a clearer response now, then he likely wouldn't want to do so regardless of how much she asked.

"Ah, ok then..."

They walked quietly for about a minute or two until they came to a crossroads.

"Well, I gotta leave you now. My home is that way."

She pointed in a direction away from the palace and Sokka nodded. Ty Lee hugged him briefly before walking away. Once she was further away though, she turned around to wave and call out to him.

"Hope I'll see you again, it was very fun!"

"Yeah, you too, thanks for hanging around!"

He waved back and continued towards the palace. It was already dark and he was getting a bit worried that he might get lost and not find it for a while, but just a few minutes later he saw the doors and breathed out in relief. Just as he was about to enter he felt a familiar girly smell around him and stopped to sniff his shirt. It was Ty Lee's, probably from when she hugged him. Well, he would definitely have to change that when he got back - he didn't want Suki to get the wrong idea. Still, it made him smile for some reason. After entering the palace he questioned the first servant he ran into if Suki was back yet and, upon hearing that she was, he asked the man to tell her he'd be waiting for her in his room. He decided spontaneously that it would be better to let her see him on her own terms in this case. He had an inexplicable bad feeling about what was going to follow. As the servant left to carry out his request, Sokka went to his room and, after hastily changing his clothes, lay down on the bed in expectation. His content mood from earlier was quickly fading and was instead being replaced by nervousness and unease. He really wanted to know what was wrong and get an explanation for all the avoiding already, yet he was at the same time afraid of what he was going to hear. By the time there was a knock on the door his heart was pounding and he instantly jumped up to open. Suki greeted him softly and, after a moment of hesitation, entered the room and sat on the bed, looking anywhere except at him. He closed the door and sat next to her, waiting anxiously for her to speak. When she didn't, he decided to do so instead.

"Soooo...where were you? What did you do today?"

She shrugged.

"Just around town, nothing specific. I know that's not what you want to talk about though."

"True…what is it that you need to tell me? It's been bugging me all day."

She shifted around nervously under his gaze, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"Yes, sorry, I...needed to think about this alone for a while. To make up my mind."

He nodded and waited quietly in anticipation for her to continue.

"Look, Sokka…please don't take this the wrong way, because I still really care about you and you mean a lot to me."

That was starting very badly.

"Alright, alright, just come out with it already, cause I'm getting pretty freaked out here."

He made a brave effort to sound joking, but he suspected that his voice had betrayed him. In any case, Suki didn't laugh or smile, but instead took a deep breath.

"There's…another guy. I think I like someone else."

Sokka felt like he was sinking into the ground. He had gone through a dozen scenarios in his head, but this he had never expected. He just deafly repeated what she had said to make sure he'd heard correctly. When she confirmed it, just then did his senses kick in and he jumped to his feet in disbelief.

"Wha…WHAT?! Another?! When? Who?...Why?"

His hurt tone at the last question finally prompted her to look at him with regret.

"Someone I've been spending time with and talking to a lot recently. I guess…the past few weeks? I'm so sorry. I don't want to feel like this, but I can't help it."

"Who is this guy?!" he yelled, unable to keep calm anymore. "What the...for God's sake, is that why you weren't answering my letters? You were just here with someone else doing...doing..."

Suki's eyes widened when she understood where he was going.

"No, no, it's not that! I haven't cheated on you in any way, I swear! And, I guess…the reason I'm doing this is because I don't want it to happen either."

"Well, that's just really freaking great of you, thanks for the concern." he answered sarcastically, which actually made her stand up irritated as well.

"Don't mock me, I'm trying to do the right thing here! It's not like I've wanted this to happen."

"Aha, right, sure!"

He threw his hands in the air and turned his back on her, trying to gather his thoughts.

"So who is it? Who's the lucky guy? I'd like to go give him my regards!" he said pissed off, but she shook her head vehemently.

"No, I won't tell you. I shouldn't."

"Why? Do I know him already?"

"I won't answer you anything about him. I'm sorry Sokka, you can't make me."

"You…you…"

Words failed him, so he just punched the nearby wall in anger, denting it a bit. Everything was adding up now, the more he was thinking about it. Not just the lack of letters before his arrival, but her entire attitude towards him. She was treating him like an average friend, because that's what he was to her now, no matter how much she tried to beat around it. After two years of being together that was the last thing that would cross his mind. He had trusted her completely.

"Just tell me why, why! What did you miss? Did I do or not do something?" he turned back to her, raising his voice again.

"No, there was nothing you could have done. I don't know why, it just happened and…I don't feel like I used to…about you."

Sokka felt like every next word drove needles into his chest. His anger was evaporating almost against his will, instead being replaced by sadness and fear.

"So…is there anything I can do now then?"

With slightly wet eyes Suki shook her head and denied.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm terrible and you deserve better. You did so much."

"No, don't, don't even say that..."

He rubbed his temples trying to think of some way out of the situation, but nothing was coming to mind. This wasn't some battle where he could just come up with a clever idea and suddenly turn everything around.

"So this is it then? We're done?" he asked with as much calmness as he could muster after being unable to think of anything.

She slowly nodded and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me...eventually."

She headed for the door, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Please, don't do can still take it back." He pleaded, not entirely sure if he himself believed that.

She released herself and with a last apologetic look exited the room, leaving him there alone.

Sokka didn't know what to do with himself. Should he run after her and beg her to stay? At this point he didn't care much about making a fool of himself, if he thought it would amount to something. He knew inside it was useless though. If anything, acting desperate would completely solidify his already seemingly non-existant chances of getting back with her. His only real reason to be here was now gone and he either had to take the first ship back home or be stuck in this place for who knows how long, like the last idiot not knowing what to do with himself. His anger returned and he punched the wall for the second time.

"FUCK!"

 **AN: Fun fact, only after writing two whole chapters of this story did I come to the mindblowing realization that it is actually an adaptation of this exact thing happening to me a few years ago. The dialogue in this is very different from my own experience (because different people, obviously), but the context is nearly identical. Small piece of advice to my fellow males out there - if you find yourself in such a situation, pour out your emotions right away (as long as you don't become violent), so you can think clearly afterwards. Because I tried to play it cool back then and that led to me falling apart mentally over the next couple of months, until I finally lashed out and made everything worse. So yeah...next chapter soon!**


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